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AIIB ready to co-op with private sector in Azerbaijan

The Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank (AIIB) will cooperate with the private sector in Azerbaijan, whenever possible, to invest in infrastructure projects which meet the bank’s mandate, strategy and standard, a source in AIIB told Trend.

The source added that mobilizing private capital is one of AIIB’s priority.

"AIIB is interested in financing infrastructure investment projects in Azerbaijan which are financially sustainable, environmentally friendly and socially acceptable," said the source.

There are many infrastructure development areas where the bank and Azerbaijan can cooperate with each other, such as transportation, energy and power, urban development, rural development etc, according to AIIB.

"Azerbaijan is a founding member of AIIB. We thank Azerbaijan’s strong support to the bank and believe Azerbaijan will play an important role in promoting infrastructure development and connectivity in the region," said the source.

Regarding the prospects for opening AIIB’s representative office in Azerbaijan, the source noted that currently, the bank doesn’t have such plans.

Earlier, Ruslan Rustamli, head of the department for cooperation with international organizations at Azerbaijan’s Economy Ministry told Trend that the ministry is ready to mull the opening of an office of AIIB in Azerbaijan after expansion of the bank’s activities in the country.

AIIB, which was created in June 2015, is a multilateral financial institution founded to bring countries together to address the daunting infrastructure needs across Asia.

Azerbaijan’s share in the bank’s capital is $254.1 million or 0.2761 percent.

AIIB approved allocation of a loan worth $600 million for the Trans Anatolian Natural Gas Pipeline (TANAP) project on December 21, 2016.

TANAP project envisages transportation of gas of Azerbaijan's Shah Deniz field from the Georgian-Turkish border to the western borders of Turkey. Turkey will get gas in 2018 and after completing the construction of Trans Adriatic Pipeline (TAP), gas will be delivered to Europe in early 2020.